Problems in identifying identical twins makes for excellent comedy, but in real life it can be quite frustrating, especially if you have two pairs of identical twins married to each other. That’s why these newlywed twins from China have decided to get plastic surgery in a bid to make themselves less identical and thus avoid the undesirable complications that could arise from failing to tell each other apart.

Zhao Xin and his twin brother Zhao Xun, from Yuncheng in China’s Shanxi Province, have been confounding relatives and friends ever since they started dating twin sisters Yun Fei and Yun Yang from a neighboring village. Although they went to the same high school in Shanxi, they only got together last year after being introduced by a matchmaker. A month later, the four of them were engaged.

Both pairs of identical twins look so alike that it’s apparently impossible to tell them apart, even by their voices. On their wedding day, their guests and even their own parents had a tough time identifying them, checking and double checking that they weren’t marrying the wrong partners.

Photo: Ti Gong

But the tipping point occurred just a few days after the wedding, when one brother found himself reaching out to caress his sister-in-law’s hand, mistaking her for his wife! On another occasion, Zhao Xin was hit by sister-in-law Yun Yang, who had meant to playfully punch her husband. To prevent such awkward situations from occurring in the future, the young couples decided to spend their honeymoon consulting plastic surgeons about , much to the relief of their families.

According to news reports, the quartet, all aged 22, have visited a hospital in Shanghai, where a team of surgeons and dermatologists are working on their case. After examining their faces and skin, they’ve recommended corrective microsurgery on the forehead and nose – in order to make the twins distinguishable, but still similar.